Getting Fresh Food at a Local Food Market

Regardless of where you live, getting fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, and other items from local farmers is definitely worth the effort. During our time in Germany, we came to rely on the market to get fresh produce, but also to pick up flowers for our apartment. Even here in Colorado, we will go to the farmer’s market almost every weekend during the summer to take advantage of getting items that are being harvested at that time. Unfortunately, we don’t have access to the variety of items that seem to be available in Europe and other places, but we enjoy going to them whenever we can, even if we aren’t buying anything.

Vegetable Market
Variety of Fresh Fruit
So Many Choices of Seafood

One of the most diverse markets that we visited was the one in Tangiers, Morocco. The variety of colors and smells were almost overwhelming with the spices, fresh produce, seafood, and meat that would be trimmed in front of you. You could even buy bones for soups and other parts of the animals as nothing goes to waste. Even though we didn’t buy anything, we were able to try several things as we walked through the stalls from olives to a fresh tangerine. Each owner was very proud of the items that they had to sell and were definitely keen on making sure that you knew anything you wanted about what they had on display.

Various Cuts of Meat
Spice Shop
Seafood Cut to Order

Although every stall was unique in what they had to offer, it was amazing to see the similarities in the way that they arranged their items for sale. Each would put their items out in ways where the colors would contrast one another and naturally draw you eyes to certain items. This week’s Daily Post Photo Challenge is Variations on a Theme and the entirety of the market in Morocco was definitely just that.

The Fish Monger was Happy to Share
Market Stall with Plenty of Nuts
Candy Stall

 

First Day in Vienna, Austria

We apologize for the relatively brief post, but we decided to take an impromptu visit to Vienna, Austria, for an three-day weekend. We flew in last night and have spent the day enjoying everything that Vienna has to offer. One surprising thing is that the Christmas Markets started today, with the largest one starting tomorrow. They don’t start in Germany until the 23rd of November, so we didn’t expect to find them starting already. We will fill you in on all of the festivities, but here are a couple of photos to give you a feel for our first day here.

Michael vs Lucifer Statue
One of the Market Stands
Old Town Vienna
The Second of Four Christmas Markets in Vienna

 

Tangiers Morocco- A World of its Own

View of the Port

One of our favorite travel memories was when we went to Tangiers for a day while staying in southern Spain.  We remember being a little nervous about going because we weren’t sure about the cultural differences.  Having spent time in India helped calm some of the nerves and the more that we read about it, the more we knew it would be a highlight of our trip.  Tangiers is truly a melting pot as it is the crossroad between Europe and Africa.  Centuries of people travelling through Tangiers to bring goods for sale has made it one of the most tolerant cities in all of northern Africa.

Looking Up Towards the Neighborhoods
Market Stall with Plenty of Nuts
Entrance to the Medina
Walking in the Medina
Fish Market
Harbor

Walking through the streets of the medina (old city) is definitely an amazing experience.  The varied architecture was extremely interesting to see and at the highest point was the Kasbah (fortress) with beautiful views of the Atlantic Ocean.  Unlike some of the other medina that we’ve read about, we were not accosted by beggars or people trying to sell us trinkets.  We definitely enjoyed the markets and came home with some wonderful  saffron.  We came close to buying a hand-made rug from one of the shopkeepers, but ended up deciding not to.  After eating an incredible meal in a tiny family owned restaurant, we purchased a tagine from one of the nearby shops.

View of the Ocean
Spice Shop
Ceramics for Sale
View from the Kasbah
Streets of the Medina

We did stop to watch a snake charmer at one point, which a little touristy, but still created a wonderful memory.  Tangiers is more than just the old city, the heart of the city is quite modern and is home to a lot of ex-pats.  There are also plenty of hotels to choose from if you want to spend several days there, but we were there for just one day. Hopefully we’ll return one day to see more of Morocco as the people were extremely friendly and we thoroughly enjoyed what time we did have there.

Bustling Downtown
Snake Charmer
It was an Interactive Show
Vegetable Market
Tagines
Walking the Streets